Rexus: Side Quest (The Completionist Chronicles Book 3) Page 15

  *Hiss…* Jaxon looked over to see a snake rearing its head out of the water and swimming closer to him. He slowly started waving his arms and doing his best to distract the creature. It slowed, then began following the movements of his arms and undulating body. “Jess? Hey, Jess!”

  “What?” the reply came from behind a curtain of hanging vines and leaves.

  “I’m charming a snake over here. Want to come over and take a look?” Jaxon called carefully.

  “Why are men so disgusting? I don’t want to hear about it, Jaxon!” Jess’s tone was scathing. “I have no interest in your ‘one-eyed snake’!”

  Jaxon took a closer look at the serpent in the water. Indeed, it seemed that this snake had been in a fight that had caused its eye to be replaced with scar tissue. “Oh-ho-ho! Spying on my side, are you? I didn’t even see that until you pointed it out, naughty girl! Oh, careful! It’s floating toward you!”

  The snake, now calm, was allowing the river currents to drag it downstream. Jess didn’t seem to understand what he was saying until a minute later when a scream reached Jaxon’s ears, “Snake!”

  “Yeah, I told you about that basically forever ago!” Jaxon called back to her.

  “I thought you were being disgusting!”

  “Nope, there was a snake.”

  “I can see that, Jaxon!” Jess got out of the water at that point and put on her still-damp clothes. “I don’t know what you did to it, but it totally ignored me, at least.”

  “I already told you! I charmed it!” Jaxon laughed at the low sigh that traveled over the water. “I’m getting out now. Avert your eyes. I’m shy or something.”

  They walked back into the outpost a few minutes later, deciding to get the new gear before going to sleep. They had to waste some time and so ate some food and rested a little, but soon enough, Jaxon was wearing an odd set of gloves and boots that fit very comfortably. The gloves went on his hands, then had extremely long strips of leather that wrapped around his arms almost all the way to his shoulder. The Leatherworker explained that gloves like this were used to help train their pups and had guessed that Jaxon needed something like this since he had bite scars all over his arms.

  After they had finished taking a nap and relieving their fatigue, it was finally time to leave the outpost behind and finish their personal journey. Jaxon looked over at Jess and cracked his knuckles. “Are you ready to go and force a guild to leave you alone?”

  “So ready,” Jess affirmed with a tight smile.

  “Excellent.” Jaxon helped her over the wall, and they started walking away from the outpost. “So. Where are we going?”

  “Not a clue.”

  “Wait, what?”

  “I only know where they go drinking and recruit people. I have no idea where they go to get the daggers.” Jess didn’t look directly at Jaxon as she spoke. “The rest I only know as rumors.”

  “So… we’re going to go to a bar then?” Jaxon nodded at this thought; he could use a drink after this whole debacle. “How far away is this place?”

  “Probably two days if we go really slowly, also accounting for the time that we will likely need in order to fight off creatures and the like.” Jess sped up a bit, trying to set a better pace.

  “Look at that! Already planning out our route and setting us up for success!” Jaxon smiled happily as he matched her speed. “We’ll make a tactician out of you yet!”

  Chapter Twenty-six

  They made it into the small town with a few hours to spare. Jess’s prediction had been accurate, but Jaxon had been able to cut down on monster attacks by learning a new method of using intimidation. By intentionally and slowly allowing stamina to pour into the skill, it had created an aura effect that drove creatures away. Jaxon was almost certain that this would turn into a skill if he continued to use it in this manner and was put off when no skill appeared before him.

  Not wanting to charge into a possible battle while poorly-rested and hungry, they went into the inn of the town and arranged for a bed and bath. Unsurprisingly, the bar was attached to the inn, but luckily, the owner had seen fit to have them somewhat separated. Perhaps they simply had loud drunks in this town? Either way, the two slept through the night after getting clean and went down to the bar for breakfast.

  The room was mostly empty but for a few day-drinkers nursing hangovers. The two each ordered a plate of fried eggs and slices of ham and were nearly finished when a smirking man sauntered over. “Jess, how very surprising that you would show up here! I’ve been looking for a way to get some brownie points with our fearless leader, and poof, you show up! Don’t take this too personally. It’s just business.”

  With no additional warning, a dagger slithered into his palm and he lashed out, attempting to stab her in the eye. Jaxon’s fist slammed into his wrist and forced the blade into the wood of the seat, but the man didn’t seem bothered. “Oh? Hello there. Got anything good I can take?”

  “Literally wearing everything I brought with me,” Jaxon responded brightly.

  “Money?”

  “Not a copper to my name.” Jaxon picked up a chunk of ham and chewed away at it.

  “Oh? And how were you planning to pay for your breakfast?” the Rogue asked in a strangely polite tone. “Or the room you rented last night?”

  The secret ingredient…” Jaxon swallowed, locked eyes with the man, and whispered, “is crime.”

  “Ha!” The man took a step back and grinned at them. “Alright, you’ve got my attention. Why are you here, and why would it be better to take you to the guild instead of killing you both?”

  “We’re here to get your guild a couple of daggers, and you should take us with you because I think the guy who ran out of here when you stabbed the chair went to get the guards.” Jaxon stood up, pushing his chair back as he did so. “Also because in an enclosed area like this, you can’t defeat me alone. No chance.”

  “Oh, for…” Jess facepalmed and looked at Jaxon with a pained expression. “There’s five of them around us, Jaxon. A guild of assassins and player killers, remember?”

  “Well, that makes more sense.” Jaxon nodded gravely. “Still, we are planning to get you the daggers and just hand them over. Sounds nice, right?”

  “I don’t think you know what you’re getting into, but sure.” The smiling man motioned for them to follow along. “Come on; you can chat with the boss.”

  Jaxon and Jess started walking to the door, but Mr. Smiles didn’t move, simply watching them as they took a few steps and collapsed to the ground, unconscious. “Pah. Really, coming into our town, our bar, and eating the food? Morons. Alrighty boy-o’s! Load ‘em up. Move ‘em out!”

  Status effect: Unconscious. Time remaining: 3… 2… 1…

  Jaxon snapped back to awareness instantly, curiously not needing to step through the portal from his respawn room. His hands were tied behind his back, connected by rope to the chair as well as his feet. Jess snapped awake next to him, finding herself in the same position. She sighed and shrugged. “Well, that’s a good lesson, I guess.”

  “Life lessons are so important these days.” A man faded into existence in front of them, somehow remaining translucent and hard to keep track of. “Why did you lose my dagger, Jess?

  “Got captured by a squad of Wolfmen.” Jess sighed as the man rolled his eyes. “Look, BackAttack, not everyone can kill thirty of the beasts when they are standing next to each other without them noticing. We’re here to make up for it. We want to earn our own daggers, then we will turn both of them over to you. Will that clear my record?”

  “You don’t know what you’re asking to do. We are a guild of glorified muggers, trying to eventually become this world’s best Assassin guild, but even I’m not that heartless. The game can do things to you in the dungeon that we can’t, and wouldn’t.” BackAttack sat down on a much more comfortable-looking chair. “How about you just let us kill you off every time we find you for… oh, six months?”

  “Six months?” Jess l
ooked like she was about to gag.

  “What’s the deal?” Jaxon interjected. “Why can’t I just give you a sack of gold and we can forget about this whole thing?”

  BackAttack shook his head. “Don’t need it. I was one of the top three contributors to the Wolfman war. I have plenty of cash. Nope, what I need is a way for my guild to expand and become more than it is. Lots of people out there wanting to do what we do, and we need an advantage. The daggers are the thing. Look at these.”

  He held up two matching daggers, which looked familiar to Jess and yet… subtly different. “This is the upgraded form of our weapon. After we kill two hundred and fifty different people with a dagger, we can go through the dungeon again and exchange it for this upgraded version. Double the damage and… well… I suppose you don’t need to know our secrets, hmm?”

  “Lets you get experience for killing people, huh?” Jaxon stated aloud, causing the first emotion beyond annoyance to appear on BackAttack’s face.

  “Who told you that? Can you inspect weapons from a distance?” The man snarled in Jaxon’s face, a dagger held to his jugular.

  “I just guessed. I figured it was a natural evolution to a dagger that lets you steal items from people.” Jaxon tried to shrug but ended up cutting himself on the dagger. “Ow.”

  “You know too much.” BackAttack slid back, rubbing his hand through his hair. “You know what? Whatever. You want to try to get one of these, go for it. I’m warning you now, though, you’ll probably die. This is an area designed for the sneaky and the perceptive.”

  “Here is what I propose: we’ll give you a dagger if you promise to stop hunting Jess,” Jaxon stated defiantly before pausing for a second. “Also, if you leave me alone as well. No hunting me either.”

  “Sure, so long as you agree not to tell others about the daggers, and if you survive getting a dagger.” BackAttack shook his head and stood, planning to let them out of the chairs.

  “Deal. Shake on it?” Jaxon thrust a hand forward, once more surprising BackAttack.

  “How did you get free?” He suspiciously looked at the hand for signs of thread or cut rope.

  “I bend really easily.” Jaxon smiled widely and continued to hold his hand in the air. “Do we have an agreement?”

  “Sure.” They shook, and a notification appeared in front of them.

  Deal struck! Both parties will be notified if the other party fails to uphold their side of the agreement. The first to break the agreement will gain a Warlock title.

  “By the way, I’m not sure if you know this, but I’m part of The Wanderer’s guild. If you break this deal, I will do everything I can to burn your guild to the ground,” Jaxon stated this as cheerfully as if he had been talking to a friend while eating bacon.

  BackAttack stiffened, but an ugly smile appeared on his face. “Lovely. You know what? I think that this might work out after all. Can I offer you a drink?”

  “The knockout stuff again?”

  “Yup.”

  “Fine…” Jaxon sighed, understanding that they wouldn’t survive leaving this place any other way. Jaxon and Jess both drank a surprisingly tasty smoothie, and the last thing Jaxon said was, “Stupid Assassins and their stupid secrecy.”

  Status effect: Unconscious. Time remaining: 3… 2… 1…

  Jaxon’s eyes opened. Once again, he had been forced out of the respawn room, and this time, he was slightly annoyed. He had been enjoying a Christmas movie and had just been getting to the part where the spoiled, city-girl, millionaire’s daughter was about to kiss the sheepish small-town cowboy. Terrible timing.

  “Here we are!” BackAttack had a dangerous gleam in his eyes. “In this bag you have enough food and water to last you a few days. There is plenty of light in there, so you don’t need torches or anything like that. You can enter together or separately, but if you go in together, I hope you understand that the danger is twice as bad.”

  Jess and Jaxon locked eyes. Jaxon coughed into his hand before speaking, “Together?

  “Sounds like a plan.” Jess smiled at him.

  “Aw. How cute.” BackAttack shook his head. “Last chance to just leave will be right before you go past that big rock we are going to roll in to cover the entrance. If you turn around, we’ll just kill you and hunt you both until we get bored, so feel free to do so.”

  Jaxon looked at the angry, young man quizzically. “You’re a strange one.”

  “Just don’t hate me, old man.”

  “Hmm. I must be giving off an ‘old man’ vibe again.” Jaxon looked down the tunnel and took a few steps. “I don’t hate you. A lot of people seem to think I have the time and energy for that. Nope. I either like you or don’t think about you at all. Why would I give someone else power over me like that? Nah.”

  A few moments later, Jaxon’s steps faltered. “Oh, I think I see why you are concerned about potential hatred.”

  Caution! You are about to enter the Dungeon of Occidendum. The only rewards that can be found in this dungeon are designed to assist in the murder of your own race, and therefore, there is a severe punishment for personal weakness. If you want to kill others so badly that you will risk this dungeon, please be aware that dying within this dungeon will result in character deletion. You cannot be forced into this dungeon. If you are placed inside against your will, you will automatically be transferred to a safe location.

  “So if we fail here, we lose everything we’ve done the entire time we’ve been playing, huh?” Jaxon shrugged and looked at Jess. “Worth a shot, huh?”

  Jess looked back, seeing ten daggers bared and pointing at her. “Looks like it is.”

  “You can always just let us kill you for a while!”

  They ignored the Assassins and stepped into the dungeon together. The promised boulder was rolled into the entrance behind them, and Jess swallowed and pulled Jaxon into a hug. “Forward is the only way through, right?”

  “Right.”

  “Thanks for risking everything for me, Jaxon.” Jess teared up and looked into his smiling face. “I won’t let you down.”

  “Don’t worry; my team will get their money’s worth out of you. I fully expect a discount on any services you can provide in the future.” Jaxon patted her on the back as he walked past her and deeper into the tunnel.

  “Ugh! Why do you suck so much?”

  Chapter Twenty-seven

  “So.” Jaxon paused as the tunnel they were in started to widen into an actual room. It wouldn’t be a good idea to just charge in without knowing what they were up against, especially not when that could mean a death with serious consequences. “Let’s start practicing your craft. What do we do now?”

  “What would you normally do?” Jess was sincerely curious, but to her disappointment, she got the exact answer she expected.

  “I would go in and deal with whatever was waiting for me in there.”

  “Wrong answer and a good way to die.” Jess sighed and shook her head. “The first step is going to be scouting. Going into an unknown area with unknown enemies leaves you ill-prepared and gives a large advantage to the defender. They will likely be in an environment that is specially prepared for them or their natural habitat if they are natural creatures.”

  “I’m picking up what you’re laying down.” Jaxon stared at her as she tried to figure out what he had just said. He sighed and rolled his eyes, which was disturbing due to the width at which they were always open. “Crystal clear, please continue?”

  “Ah.” Jess collected her thoughts and continued, “There are a few things we can assume right away: whatever is in here is going to be stronger than we are, at least individually. Also, there is some advantage to be had in stealth or else this player killer guild wouldn’t have set up shop here. So my current plan is to act as our scout. I am going to go into this area as stealthily as possible, then come back and make a plan with you. Sound good?”

  “Yes,” Jaxon responded too loudly for Jess’s comfort, and she glared at him before slinking
away and into the room. Jaxon tried to be patient as the seconds turned into minutes… and the minutes began to tick by. He could see that she was unharmed thanks to having officially formed a party, but that didn’t mean much to him at this point. While he was looking around, he noticed an inscription on the wall.

  The wicked run when no one is chasing them.

  Jaxon didn’t see anything else and was starting to get bored. Just before deciding to go in after her, Jess arrived in the tunnel with him, panting and slightly scorched. She patted at her clothes, which were slightly smoking, took a deep breath, and sat down. “Alright, that sucked. Strange enemies in here. They look like gargoyles or at least what you expect to see on the top of old buildings, and they are really tough. They are either actual stone, or their bodies are just that hard. They can’t seem to move their limbs very fast, so I don’t think they are any good at physical fighting.”

  “Magical then?” Jaxon gestured at her smoldering shirt. “Some kind of spells?”

  “In a way? I think it is more a spell-like ability.” Jess considered for a moment but had nothing to add that could clarify. “It seems that wherever they look is flooded with heat. Not fire exactly but kind of like radiant heat from the sun. If they focus on something, that ‘cone’ of vision narrows over the course of a couple seconds and turns more into a laser or a beam of fire; to the point where it is actually visible and actual fire. But… compressed? As if it was solid. I really don’t think being hit by that would be a good idea.”

  “Anything else?” Jaxon helped her to her feet, since it seemed that she had recovered.

  “Yeah.” She swallowed hard. “The effect stacks. Two of them saw me at the same time, and my shirt caught on fire; compared to when one saw me and I wasn’t in danger until it’s focus began to narrow. There are a bunch of them in this room, and the more that are looking at a particular thing, the hotter it gets. I’m betting that if a bunch of them focus enough on making a beam, they could disintegrate just about anything. I think we found why stealth works best through here.”